The music rises, the hero’s destiny seems unshakable, and the villain is about to win. Then the hero breaks free, fights against the villain’s henchmen, and stops the evil plan, thus saving the world.
Sounds familiar ?? A good action-adventure tale is an exciting non-stop journey designed to transport the reader into a world that he may never be able to experience for himself.
But what about those things that can take the reader out of the story? No, not those pesky grammar / punctuation problems. I’m talking about a problem with the story itself.
These are some of the things that pull me out of a story and make me wonder what happened. And when?
The hero’s development of ‘Superhero’ abilities without explanation.
You know what I’m talking about; the hero suddenly has super-hearing or strength. But how this happened is a mystery to the reader. Usually the explanation is so quick that the reader has to stop reading and go back to previous pages to see when it happened or if it ever happened. The reader needs to know how this skill was developed, not in serious detail, but at least enough so that the reader is not left pondering the mysteries of physics.
Knowing how to fight like a Kung-Fu master without any training.
Even better is when the hero can defeat a martial arts-trained villain using basic fighting skills and without scratching him. If your hero is going to be able to fight like a master, then you must prove that he has had this ability before the final battle scene.
The bad guys can’t shoot, but the good guys always can.
One of the worst action scenes I can remember seeing is one where the heroes slide head first down a rope, shooting all the villains with pistols while the villains try to shoot them with machine guns. They hit every shot and the villains miss every shot. Exciting? You can bet! Possible? No way! Even an action story must have some basis in reality. The reader can only suspend faith for a time before they stop reading.
The hero never, NEVER gets hurt.
This is just plain silly. If you are going to be someone who makes a living in distress, then you will get hurt. Even if it’s just a paper cut out of that pesky action hero contract! One of the things I love about the Die Hard movies is the amount of damage it can take, just enough to make it realistic without going overboard so much that you wonder why it isn’t 6 feet underground yet.
These are the most important things that will get me out of a story. While I realize that sometimes these things are necessary, keeping them within the realm of reality … even just within … can make your story exciting and realistic. It is not an easy feat, but it is worth it for your reader.